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ThyssenKrupp Steel starts up new blast furnace

ThyssenKrupp Steel AG started up its new blast furnace 8 in Duisburg on December 13, 2007. The new unit is part of a 340 million euro program to secure hot metal production for the company’s German plants. At the same time the investment will secure 1,200 direct jobs and a further 3,600 indirect jobs in the region over the medium term. The blast furnace was completed earlier than planned. Reckoned from the date the building permit was issued the construction period was only 28 months. Blast furnace 8 will produce around 5,600 metric tons of hot metal per day.

On its nine square kilometer site in Duisburg ThyssenKrupp Steel operates four blast furnaces which produce around 11.5 million tons of hot metal per year. Blast furnaces Schwelgern 1 and 2 are among the biggest of their kind in the world. The new blast furnace 8 replaces blast furnace 4, built in 1963, which will serve as a spare in the future. The blast furnace program also includes the extensive modernization of the existing blast furnace 9. Furnaces 8 and 9 will be operated as twin units with common control and raw material supply systems.

ThyssenKrupp Steel has invested 250 million euros in the construction of blast furnace 8 alone. Around 80 million, almost a third of the total investment, was spent on pollution control equipment. All emissions are below the limits set by the relevant environmental standards. In terms of dust emissions, blast furnaces 8 and 9 will be more than twenty percent below the previous figures for blast furnaces 4 and 9. Noise emissions have likewise been significantly reduced. Another special feature is the color design of the new blast furnace, changing from black at the top first to orange and then to yellow, reflecting the temperature changes inside the furnace. The color scheme was developed by ThyssenKrupp Steel in association with the renowned color designer Friedrich Ernst von Garnier.

In addition to the blast furnace program at the Duisburg site, ThyssenKrupp Steel AG is currently investing around six billion euros in capacity expansion as part of its forward strategy. A new steel mill is currently under construction in Brazil with a capacity of five million tons per year. It is scheduled for completion in spring 2009. Three million tons of the steel produced in Brazil will be processed in the USA. For this a plant featuring high-capacity hot-rolled, cold-rolled and coating lines is being built in the US state of Alabama. Ground was broken on the project in November 2007. Two million tons of steel from Brazil will be delivered to Germany, where ThyssenKrupp Steel is currently investing in expansion of its value-adding processing and coating lines.

This press release and an up-to-date photograph are available on the internet at www.thyssenkrupp-steel.com.